Tax practice

The surge in U.S. companies avoiding taxes by taking a foreign address has been condemned by President Barack Obama and stirred a policy debate in Congress. What’s often overlooked is that these “inversions” are typically a final step in a hopscotch of multinational tax dodging.

The U.S. House of Representatives rejected an $11 billion bill that would have provided tax incentives for charitable donations of food, money from retirement accounts and land-development rights.

The Internal Revenue Service used its legislative authority to hire employees at salaries higher than those typically given to senior executives in the federal government, according to a new government report that found the practice appropriate, even though Congress has now stepped in to change it.

With the advent of the holiday season, now may be just the time to market yourself and your staff to potential clients, according to Chuck McCabe, president and chief executive of Peoples Income Tax and The Income Tax School.

Outgoing House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., officially introduced Thursday the comprehensive tax reform package he has been laboring over in recent years.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., has released a report highlighting billions of dollars in tax breaks for “special interests.”

Highlights of some of our favorite tax-related blogs from the past week.

The Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee have introduced bipartisan legislation to protect taxpayers against the inappropriate use of civil asset forfeitures by the Internal Revenue Service.

As year-end approaches, it would be worthwhile for practitioners to consider whether corporate clients could benefit from the following “last minute” tax-saving moves, including adjustments to income to preserve favorable estimated tax rules for 2015, deferral of certain advance payments to next year, and fine-tuning bonuses to make the most of the Section 199 domestic production activities deduction.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued an announcement extending the “deemed compliant” status of countries that are treated as if they had an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. Treasury Department in place for purposes of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

The Internal Revenue Service issued the 2015 optional standard mileage rates on Wednesday that are used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.

Lawmakers in Congress have included a fourth renewal on the ban on Internet access taxes as part of a spending deal to avert a government shutdown.

Congress has cut the Internal Revenue Service’s budget once again, reducing the tax agency’s fiscal year 2015 budget by 3 percent compared to this year’s funding level.

The IRS is reminding practitioners that the deadline for those who want to participate in the new voluntary Annual Filing Season Program must complete the continuing education requirements by Dec. 31.

U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden said he expects Congress to pass legislation that would permanently extend three lapsed tax breaks for charitable contributions.

U.S. states are taking advantage of an expanding economy to cut taxes by the most in 14 years while spending more on education and other programs, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers.

The Internal Revenue Service needs to do more to reduce the risk of improper payments of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit, according to a new government report.

Deutsche Bank AG was accused of using underfunded shell companies to evade U.S. taxes in a government lawsuit seeking $190 million in taxes, penalties and interest.

The IRS recently updated the Health Insurance Marketplace page on IRS.gov.

Our weekly roundup of tax-related investment strategies and news your clients may be thinking about.